Alternate Reality Card: Voyage
by BulletofEducation
Summary: The missing timeline where Paradox faced another trio of protagonists before he ventured near the 10th Anniversary Movie.
1. Clockwise

…to think that everything recurs as we once experienced it, and that the recurrence itself recurs ad infinitum! What does this mad myth signify?

Milan Kundera. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"

 **[LDS Centre Court. 6.00 p.m.]**

Through arcane science, a miracle beyond common faith or suspension of disbelief takes place. Yuzu Hiragi is reborn as the sole reincarnation of Ray. The spirits of the three other bracelet girls live inside her, just as the three dragon boys live on in Yuya.

Yuya welcomes her first amongst the party and they shake hands. Emotions are high and running in the air. There's joy, relief and hope, but between them anger and despair over the innocent children and Yuri whose lives were lost.

YUZU

Yuya, I was sure you could make everybody smile with your duel.

YUYA

*nods politely* Welcome home, Yuzu.

YUZU

Yuya. [tears up]. I'm back.

Sawatari looks on with contentment; the MAN Gongenzaka and a BURNING Shuzo tear up; Hitoshi shivers; Yoko looks pensively in the distance, her thoughts unknown to us. Is she happy that Yuzu survived the ordeal? Has she resigned herself to the fact that her son carries three boys' spirits on top of the burdens he's carried? Is she wondering how to pay Yuya's tuition to Pro School amidst divorce proceedings? A baby Reira laughs her demonic possession away in Himika's arms. Leo and Reiji exchange a few silent words. The single word "Yuya" is then muttered by Reiji, followed by an unbidden laugh. The lights go off. A single figure stands up in the spotlight up high.

YUSHO

If you think this is the end, that's a big mistake!

YUYA

Dad?!

YUSHO

Yuya! Your real fight began from the moment you passed the test! Are you prepared to continue fighting as a pro?

YUYA

Of course! From now on I will make everyone smile with duelling! And I will be an Enterma-Duellist that surpasses my dad.

Yuya springs with newfound hope, fervour and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

YUYA

The fun is only getting s—SHIT!

A white D-Wheel descends from up high and with it two gigantic dragons. A three-headed mechanical dragon clad in golden armour blasts the audience with three successive shots from each head. Everybody starts screaming in distress. Those with combat experience start blasting monsters into their disks to fight, but the white uni-horned dragon with rainbow-tinged wings is the fastest beast they've ever faced and it obliterates the main players. Yuya summons the Four Dimension Dragons to parry the attacks and dispatches Clear Wing towards the D-Wheel. Suddenly, Clear Wing is hit with a beam made of literal cards; it activates Dichroic Mirror twice in succession, but a third, far larger stream finally connects and it disappears with a roar. As this is taking place, Solid Vision fails, Yuya falls from Odd-Eyes and sprains his ankle. The hellfire draws closer. Yuzu cradles Yuya and runs for shelter. Shun runs after her and extends his arm, distracted from the incoming attack.

SHUN

 _ **RURI!**_

Yuzu instinctively reacts, but never sees him. The fire burns everyone alive.

YUZU

NO!

Out of who-the-hell-knows-where, Yuzu is hit on the eye. The object that does it falls at her feet: an all too familiar double-banded silver bracelet with a pink gem at the intersection. An old instinct kicks in and she grabs it. Yuzu is engulfed in pink light and fades away.

 **[Miami City Highway: 6:01 p.m.]**

By the time the pink light around them had dissipated, a red one was hitting the floor they stepped on and splintered the ground.

" _YUYA_!"

" _YUZU_!"

Their screams for the other drowned in each other and Yuzu held Yuya tighter with all the strength she could muster mid-fall. Once they fell, he slipped off her arms. In one second's fraction, Yuzu stood up in an adrenaline rush and in the next, the source of the attack rose above them. A gigantic mechanical behemoth towered above them with a shining red eye.

"Academia?!"

"YUZU, DUCK!"

Yuzu flipped back in a pirouette that managed to dodge the blazing hit on the ground and the two dragons that swung forth. Starve Venom spread its tendril wings to their full length and shielded the kids from the ensuing barrage while Dark Rebellion pierced the terrain with its fangs and lunged at the monster. Behind their protection, Yuzu tended to Yuya and slung his right arm to get him on his feet, one sprained, the other bleeding. For the first time, they were able to see the behemoth in all its might.

"It can't be….I thought Academia would reform itself", Yuya said with a tremulous voice.

"It's not Academia's", Yuzu said, leaving out "how could they?"

Indeed, the monster was a wholly different design from the Antique Gears that had ravaged Heartland. Its armour was an ember-bronze plating and its build was larger, more futuristic and more dynamic with a raised shield that kept Dark Rebellion at bay and a laser cannon that forced Starve Venom on the defensive. At its chest, from an opening shaped life an infinity symbol, a green core shone a sickly, hypnotising green.

"Look out!"

Too late. Starve Venom's wing had been pierced and its blood oozed a sickening substance that rusted part of the machine's steel and nearly burned them both.

Yuzu was pushed backwards and Yuya fell behind her. The dragons dissipated from the Solid Vision and the towering behemoth was now aiming a final cannon at them.

It's over.

"KATTOBINGU DA, ORE!"

Yuma Tsukumo rode atop Sleipnir Mail and they jumped off a cliff of debris from which he got a clear shot.

"Go, Rainbow Kuriboh!"

It shot forth as a cannon ball and hit Machine Emperor Grannel squarely on its head. The Grannel Top was entrapped in a rainbow-tinged sphere and it started rotating madly in haywire. Without wasting a single second, Yuma summoned King of Wishes, Hope Ray which hurled its Unicorn Spear towards the exposed core. Grannel Infinity exploded on contact and the rest of its parts broke apart in tandem.

Yuma rode at the burnt middle ground between the kids and their attacker. Astral emerged in a flurry of blue light right beside him.

"We finally found you. Give it up Yliaster!"

"Oh crap!"

Behind the falling debris of Grannel's parts, the old man who controlled it immediately activated a Magic Card. Astral saw its image in clear detail—an archway releasing white light from within a purple world. That was all he saw before it transmuted like a computer glitch, along with the monster and the duellist.

They might as well have never been there.

Two seconds of silence. Then another three and not a single Emperor in sight. Yuma deactivated his disk and jumped off his steed, which vanished in a glitch.

"Oi! Are you alright?!"

The girl was drenched in cold sweat and grabbed onto the boy, who had fallen unconscious. With a few seasoned touches, Yuma applied the power of Chaos first onto his ankle and chest so the injuries healed. After the girl had been reassured at her partner's healing, Yuma smoothly pressed her fingers into her forehead. She closed her eyes. With each passing second, her expression hardened and tears streamed. To heal under Chaos meant opening the injuries within. Even a few feet away, Astral could sense that this girl was carrying too much pain for one life to handle.

"I-It can't be".

When Yuma put his arm around her, she collapsed into his chest and cried for what felt like the entire night spent away in tears.

 **[Miami City Central Park: 6:02 p.m.]**

Aporia and Paradox arrived 30 seconds later than they had timed it. At the scale of their operation, one second made all the difference in the universe.

"Just what happened down there?" asked Antinomy.

"I bombed the stadium exactly as we planned. But when I baited the dragons, I only managed this one", he pulled out a Synchro Monster "This one beast drained my energy. Even that Tachyon Dragon didn't put this much of a fight".

Antinomy could only raise his eyebrows as he took the card. Aporia interjected.

"We have bigger problems. Those people from the other dimension are back on our trail. They intercepted me when I pursued the boy and the girl".

"Don't tell me, they were the same Barian Emperors?" asked Paradox.

"No. These were a boy and a Duel Ghost. They transmitted energy equivalent to Barian's, but it was different".

"It would seem we've taken more than we bargained for in diverging with these Emperors". Antinomy hadn't looked up from the card.

"Really Antinomy, I had no idea!" He did, however, see Paradox from the corner of his eye, banging his head with an imaginary cane, like he used to with a real one.

 _Clear Wing Synchro Dragon._

Analysing new variables had become a mechanised reflex when things went horrifically awry and he had to formulate an out on the spot. It had only been six months past their timeline when Z-One had finally developed sustainable time travel, but they might as well have been at Day One. Whereas their first two trials yielded underwhelming results, this, their third, had produced _overwhelming_ results in italics.

"Time travelling has provided more duties than one man will manage in a lifetime. Let's not bring dimensional warlords into this. Paradox. We must leave that Tachyon Dragon in a marked position where its master can find it, well before he locates us. It's true that it has a useful time re-setting ability, but that's no lead towards our technology. I'd rather not leave it in the hands of someone we don't know".

"What about that one?"

"We're keeping it".

"Did you recognize it?"

"No. I have never seen it before, and what a shame that is. On sheer calculations, this is a card that could have blocked the Machine Emperors and defeated them in combat. And on my duellists' gut, I'd like to think of it as a miracle come to save us"

"Duellist's…gut?" Aporia only stared.

"A miracle?" Paradox looked disdainfully.

He sighed. Even after all this time, he kept forgetting that, battle hardened as they were, Aporia and Paradox had no use for the game's own sake. Any talk of creating bonds with the cards flew past them. He couldn't blame them that. Antinomy himself wasn't sure where this was coming as he'd avoided duels altogether. They had had to sustain themselves on surgically-inserted life supplying cores until Z-One could perfect the creation of a Cyborg Avatar. Even if his mind and hand muscles were intact, Antinomy couldn't hope to survive the impact of a duel on his current condition.

"We better move on", he affirmed briskly. Time is of the essence went unsaid.

 **[Miami City. You Show School: 6:05 p.m.]**

Yuma Tsukumo. Astral.

Chaos in the midst of battle and near death was known to temper old grudges and form unlikely allies and few tests stood to mind quite as clearly as a Machine Emperor. Astral had urged them to find a hide-out to recover from their psychic wounds and catch their breaths before the battle.

Yes, there would be a battle. Yuzu didn't know against whom or why, but as soon as Astral had said it, she sprung forth on command and took them to You Show School for comfort. Their last hideout. Their last sanctuary of a past and future long gone.

They exchanged intel like long lost friends who'd wandered separate ways and were catching up. The idea of a Duel Ghost that had once been linked to a schoolboy's body should have freaked them out. But after the agony of being physically dissolved into the aether, reintegrated from a single particle and witnessing the deaths of her loved ones, Yuma had proven to be a radiant sun of hope.

Really, finding allies as Astral already seemed as mundane to their universe as the sun and moon after Yuya, after Yuto…

"You mean that three-headed dragon that attacked everybody is an Xyz Monster?"

"Yes. Neo Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon. And what a formidable monster it is. Yuma and I couldn't even handle the base Tachyon Dragon. That was Kaito's fight, after all".

"Wait. Galaxy-Eyes…Kaito? As in Kaito Tenjo?"

"Uh?"

"You know Kaito?" Yuma looked incredulously.

"Yes. He's one of our comrades who fought with us all this way. He was even at…" Yuya's words caught on his throat. This time, Yuma did not lend a supporting hand. He stood up.

"Don't tell me Kaito was at that stadium when those guys attacked?!"

Yuya was reddening with tears, slid his goggles and sat on a desk. Yuzu felt a sick pit growing in her stomach. In a flash, Yuma stood up and had kicked the door open.

"Yuma! Where are you going?!"

"ASTRAL! Kaito was there! We have to find him."

"How? We can't rush this without a plan!" Yuya lowered his goggles. "Yuma, if Kaito survived the attack, we have to believe that he's still fighting and may help us when he has a chance to. Otherwise..." But even Astral looked remorseful at this. Yuzu had to step up.

"We'll fight with the comrades we have. If we have even one of us standing, we can get through this", Astral reiterated with a calm, but firm demeanour. Yuma and Yuya remained sullen.

"Damn…to let Kaito die after last time…" Yuma looked up the window towards the full moon. Yuzu felt Serena enraptured by it. It was as big and blazing as when Ray beat the Zarc out of Yuya. Could they pull another miracle tonight?

They'd swung back and forth between despair and hope, tragedy and miracle inextricably linked, as far as she could remember?

 _They same the time goes by, yet the memories are cruelly short. Where did I leave my father? Did I really have no mother outside of Ray?_

At first, Yuya had invented (or discovered?) Pendulum Summon and You Show School was at the public centre of attention for good again. Then Yuya had been accused of cheating and LDS had sent students to steal the cards, then their school. Yuya had fought back, but then Yuto appeared and Yuya was embroidered in another mess someone left. Yuzu couldn't protect him, nor the school so she'd sought Sora to learn Fusion Summon. Then Academia appeared. Then Yuya bravely stepped up to fight it and bring smiles to the worlds left in misery. And now Zarc manifested and Yuya had another burden. And now everything they'd fought to get back was being snatched again.

"I won't accept this".

"What did you say?" said Yuma and Yuzu could feel everyone's eyes on her (even inside her) as she looked up at the chalkboard.

"I won't accept that these people can just take everything away from us. Not your friend Kaito, not our friends or families. Academia tried to hunt me down and kill me. For all intents, they did". She finally managed to look at them. Yuma looked on in fearful awe; Astral seemed remorseful; Yuya's posture had relaxed slightly, but he still wasn't looking at them. Yuzu looked straight at them, like she'd seen her father so many times before when giving a heart-to-heart pep talk when someone was crying or lost a duel.

"They won't leave it at this. They stole one of your comrade's dragons and Yugo's. They challenged you guys and fled and tried to kill us. If they're real hunters, if they've decided to use duelling as a tool of war, they won't leave any loose ends. They'll come for us as easily as we'll come for them. We should go back to the stadium and take them head on.

Yuma's red eyes blazed with a twinkle. Grieving anger and hot passion flared into each other. Astral closed his eyes and nodded with a small smile. Yuma stepped forth.

"You're right, Yuzu! We'll definitely pull a kattobingu on those guys!"

"A kattobingu?" Yuya looked up.

"Yeah. It's the feeling you get when you really want to do that special something that's been bugging you, even when all odds are against you! Look, I don't know what any of you have been through", Yuma literally meant all eight of them, for his powers had confirmed the presence of their dimensional counterparts somewhere in their hearts, "but I've been in life to death duels before. I lost so many comrades along the way, without knowing if I'd ever see them again. But I still had friends and duels. As long as you stand by them, they'll answer. That's my way of kattobingu".

Yuya stared at him for one second. A giant grin rose on the next. "I understand. It is your way of bringing smiles to everyone you cross paths with?"

Yuma nodded encouragingly. Yuya took his goggles off and dried the tears.

"If that's the case, we'll do it. My friends saved me when Yuto, Yugo, Yuri and I drowned in darkness. The least I can do is repay the favour. We'll beat those guys and bring everything back to the way it was!" He pumped his fists enthusiastically.

Yuzu wanted to be happy for Yuya, but bitter thoughts materialized inside her.

 _Nobody said beating them would guarantee they'd come back._

 _Really, do we exist just to motivate him?_

Those had been Serena and Rin's, she knew, even though they might as well have been hers. Yuzu had barely been reborn seven minutes ago and she already understood nothing could go back to the way it was, not really. She was grateful for Yuma's appearance, but Yuya needed to step up if he wanted to accomplish anything….

That had left only Ruri's voice for her to hear, but Yuzu was still learning to distinguish them.

She was still learning to distinguish herself.


	2. Counter-Clockwise

**[Z-One's chamber, 5:00 p.m.]**

The young girl was set into a bio scanner. Based on the memories he'd read, Z-One identified the procedure that had caused this unique anomaly: three minds inside another girl's body, one of whom was able to seize control. He'd expected that, with how few resources had survived the Emperors and how many they needed to spare for time travel, he could only restore her body and leave the three other minds inside to die. But thankfully (thankfully? What a foolish notion), the four girls had the same blood-type, the same body structure and genotype. He'd only need to clone her, then reverse the molecular destruction process and reconfigure their memories, whilst leaving no record of the entire ordeal.

"The entire ordeal?" she'd ask pointedly.

"Yes. No memory that may concern time travel or Barian. All loose ends will be cut".

He could clone her one body in four, reconfigure their individual minds and nerve impulses into each clone and send them back (back? No, that was inexact. There was no back. Time was not singular and malleable, but multiple and rigid. Or at least, that was the option they'd configured to work with. They'd never be truly back. At best, she'd find a quiet world).

The girls were an enigma. Biologically, they could have been quadruplets. Yet the girl who'd duelled them and the one who came to him were as different as two phases of the moon. One hid her anger and jadedness behind cautious optimism; the other looked the quiet cynic, but held reckless optimism in her eyes. Z-One could have sympathized in another life.

The procedure that had dissolved their bodies and reduced three of them to spirit for the fourth to carry as their homunculus had been hasty. He had attempted it once and never again. It had started on a purely speculative experiment that wanted to transfer a Duel Monsters' spirits into a vessel by way of burning its physical card to the ground. Z-One had adapted it to transferring their consciousness into their past selves so they could identify the root of humanity's destruction and react to it. A singular change of the future. Alas, the soul needed a vessel of an exactly equivalent stamina to the subjects to carry them. Failing to do so meant the subjects had essentially been murdered.

"This homunculus will not survive past the next ten years". He'd said.

The girl had simply closed her eyes and sighed with boredom and palpable disappointment. In whom?

"Your name?"

"Ruri Kurosaki".

The system disagreed, the same that had cross-referenced her DNA with the records Antinomy had hacked as preliminary research for their battle ground. He did not dispute it.

"What do you expect to accomplish, Ruri Kurosaki?"

"Keep my promises".

"To whom?"

"Does it matter to you?"

"If it poses a risk to our mission."

"I have my own mission to keep. If it works out, I pray to never see you again".

The thought came instantly: _She wants to escape herself, even in her own hometown._

Yes, she was from this Miami City. Her records were in the LDS Database. Likely, her own family would die within the hour as soon as Paradox descended with his hoard of dragons. She didn't care. If anything, she was counting on it. Why?

 _Let's leave it at why. There's no need to form any bonds with her._

She wanted to be Ruri Kurosaki. She was convinced she was, as the polygraph had shown. Then let her be Ruri Kurosaki.

"I will take your prayer, for I am the God of this world".

Another memory surged despite decades of repression. A young prodigy and a proud duellist who never failed at anything he set up to do. Unite worlds; heal decades of social oppression and resentment. Prevent the destruction of the world and the eradication of humanity. If he'd still been here, he might have fought off the raiding dragons and the Machine Emperors. If he'd been with them, no one would need to die in an hour.

But Yusei Fudo was long gone.

He was Z-One and she was Ruri Kurosaki.

 **[You Show School, 6:17 p.m.]**

 _Yuma, I'll cover the high ground and look ahead_. Even telepathically, in the chilling silence that befell the city, Astral had whispered that.

Yuya had found Yuzu's deck and a spare D-Pad within their teacher (her father)'s desk.

"I can't believe you found it! How did it get here?" she had checked and re-checked them and still flicked the deck to make sure she hadn't missed any.

"I don't know. Ever since the battle with Zarc, Standard's reality appears to have been re-set, except that…." Yuya looked down worried.

"What is it?"

"Well, we all forgot about you, until the Principal mentioned you".

"Wait, what?" Yuma blurted out. Clearly there was only so little they could share in the time they'd met each other. Was it five minutes? Or five hours? The chaos and ensuing quiet had messed up his sense of time. Yet Yuzu didn't seem surprised, but saddened.

"So my dad was the only one who remembered me?" When Yuya made another side glance she said "Yuya" with more edge.

"We were duelling when he took the mic and told us. Before my test, he'd forgotten you too"

"Just what's going on here?" asked Yuma.

Yuya clutched his blue pendant. "I wish I knew. Why were Yuzu, Zarc and the fight with Academia forgotten by Standard? And only Standard? My father and Reiji Akaba might have known but..."

Yuma stepped forward and held a supporting hand on both of them. "It's gonna be okay".

It had to. They'd just gotten back the flare, his kattobingu, and they couldn't afford to lose it.

"Yuya, whatever happened here was not your fault. You don't have to carry the world on your shoulders". Yuya looked away from Yuma, with a slight blush and a slight smile.

"Yuzu. You're here with us and we won't let you go". He held his hand more tightly on Yuzu, but she didn't seem convinced.

"I don't know how it feels to be forgotten, but I have forgotten my friends before".

"You what?" she looked up surprised.

"Oh, I don't mean like ignoring them!" Yuma said scratching the back of his head in embarrassment at how that'd sounded. "I mean as in, I've had duels were people would use special powers to make me forget them". He meant his first duel with III, back in the simple days of collecting the Numbers at the World Duel Carnival, when he'd been made to forget Kattobingu and Astral.

"Even though I didn't know what I'd forgotten, I felt a gaping void inside me. I'm sure everyone missed you".

Yuzu held his gaze for a few seconds and looked down.

"It's not just about that".

"What is it?"

She hesitated for a few more seconds, but just when Yuya was going to say something, she whispered.

"I feel like _I've_ forgotten someone".

"Heh?" Both boys said.

"And it feels like, if we can't win this fight and fix this mess, I'll never remember them".

Out of words to comfort them, Yuma could only hug her. Yuya hugged from behind.

Yuzu was holding her right wrist with her left hand. She wore a silver bracelet that consisted of two rings in intersection with a pink gem. She traced a finger around it on instinct. Yuma looked down at his own special pendant, the Emperor's Key and held it. He remembered his previous battlefield, when the Barian Emperors attacked Heartland, his Heartland. Shark and Rio had regained lost memories and rose against them. For all the pain they'd caused him and his friends, Yuma never held it against them. They'd forgotten their most cherished friends, then found them. Could Yuma had turned back on his friends in the hour of need? Any of them?

Never. That was why they'd chosen to fight Yliaster, the root of the problem, instead of intercepting Mizael who'd gone on a frenzy across dimensions for his Tachyon Dragon. Like Astral said, time travel meant they'd be fighting Barian Emperors who'd either not know Yuma or think him an enemy. He couldn't say if Shark and Rio would be with them or if they'd be missing too in their timeline.

 _But Vector will be_.

Shivering the memories away, he looked back at Yuzu's bracelet and how the rings were set to rotate in orbit simultaneously.

"Heh, they look like Overlay Units", he whispered.

"What did you say?" Yuzu looked up.

Suddenly Astral announced his presence with a small cough. He simply tilted his head and gave Yuma a knowing smile. He blushed and giggled at that.

 **[LDS Centre Court, 6:20 p.m.]**

A new message had come up on their console.

"This is Z-One's!" Aporia exclaimed.

"What's he saying?" the other two replied in sync as usual.

"Eagle Over-Terrain". This was their code for visiting a site area into the future after the fact and reporting a potential anomaly.

"Barian at 7 P.M. DO NOT DUEL THEM". Self-explanatory and delivered with a judging look at Paradox, who rolled his eyes in reply.

"Stay out of Vector…I don't know what this means".

The last part was written in bolded, underlined italics, with Vector written in katakana and not kanji, like it was a name. Antinomy looked over the message.

"Are there any equations or instructions attached?" asked Paradox.

"None". Did he mean the vector field where Paradox' time machine left trails? Z-One seemed to revel in his intrigue and mystery, but even he didn't make his messages so cryptic.

"Beats me", said Antinomy with stunning simplicity. "But it can't be good", he added with stunning obviousness. "Paradox, the dragon".

He raised the Xyz monster. "I reckon I'll just leave it here. The machine won't recharge within the next half-hour".

A ten minute margin. Too short against the kind of people they were dealing with.

"Why did you think stealing a card from an interdimensional warlord was a good idea?" Aporia vented for the innumerable time. Just as Paradox stepped forward, Antinomy stood between them.

"Save it". He pointed at the security monitor. Another problem.

 **[6: 28 p.m.]**

Yuzu, Astral and the boys were received by three hovering platforms, each holding an old man with an old model duel disk. Their platforms instantly reminded her of the Ancient Gears that Academia hovered. They looked rusty, worn out and deadly, fuelled by an ominous rainbow light inside them. Their programme emitted a screen mid-air from which they could watch each of them closely. The first had trailing hair with shades of blonde and purple amidst the grey; the other was bald with a badly, unkempt eyebrow and a large beard and the third wore a pink visor.

The first pointed a finger above them. "Are you Barian?!"

"I am Astral, the sword and shield of the Astral World. In this timeline, Barian is my enemy as well", he replied. "If you can see me, then you'll know that I come in peace".

"Peace, is it, three young people armed with cards and duel disks?!" replied the second man.

"What did you say?" murdered Yuya to himself. Or was he talking to one of them? He stepped forward, "You're the guy who attacked us at the highway! And you!" He injected more anger into that "you" at the first guy. "You stole Clear Wing!"

Yugo's aura was radiating from those gritting teeth and furious eyes. Yuzu was consumed with empathetic rage.

 _That bastard. He killed them all!_

She spoke up for the first time since they'd left the school, but Rin's words were speaking in her voice. "You will return our friends and our cherished things or you'll pay Hell for it."

"Wait!" Yuma stepped in front of her and extending his arms like he was shielding her from an attack that would soon come.

"We came here to retrieve what you took. But why did you come here? Who are you?"

The man with the pink glasses leaned over. "I do believe the introductions were due. From the date we scanned, I take it your two human companions are Yuya Sakaki and Yuzu Hiragi. Who might you be, Barian or Astral?"

"I am Yuma Tsukumo. I've already fought against the Barians. In my time they were my friends. Even if the ones you've met are different from mine, they're still my friends and you've put their world and this one at danger for stealing their card. Who are you and why did you take it?"

"I am Antinomy. The gentlemen at my right are Aporia and Paradox".

"OI!"

"THEY DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT!"

"It's okay", he held a placating hand to his friends. "I don't believe that they're Barian and thus we may allow them a formal introduction". He turned back down "That said, I don't believe the Barians won't overpower you and torture you for information. Our names are but a trifle of what you've seen. You've too many clues towards us and we must scorch them. I'm only grateful that you spared us the need to hunt you down".

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO HUNTED US DOWN!" snapped Yuzu.

"THAT'S RIGHT! Yuya replied. "WE WANT WHAT YOU TOOK BACK!"

"Please. Why did you come here? What are you aiming for?" Astral was the quietest, but his voice spread the furthest.

The man called Paradox took a step on his platform. "We have been collecting the strongest dragons to insure weapons in the war against time. I stole Neo Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon, but its owner has been pursuing us. He and his friends will summon the full might of Barian here. We cannot leave a single trail to our location. So we came here where they'd most likely find us and razed this place of all life and technology. The dragon will return to them and a war against them will be avoided."

"A war against time? Your location?" Yuya was asking aloud, but by the look he was giving he was figuring it out. "I see. You all came from a different timeline, and a different dimension, a whole other universe, practically. Are you from Fusion, Synchro or Xyz?"

"Our world is haunted by Synchro", Aporia replied gravely.

 _Haunted?_

 _They're from the Synchro Dimension?_

"Yuya, what is happening?"

"I may be wrong, but it looks like two other universes are at war. And our home is at the crossroads between them. Nonetheless", he activated his duel disk's yellow blade. "These people set us up as bait for their enemies while they escaped. I won't forgive anyone who would sacrifice innocent lives like this!"

Aporia waved his hand, dismissingly "The sacrifice of this city was a trifle next to the loss of life that would be suffered at Barian's hand. In this world, and the others".

"Young boy", Paradox looked at Yuma. "If you've truly fought Barian, then you understand we had no choice?"

"YOU'RE WRONG!" for the first time Yuma seemed angry. "Fighting is a choice in itself! Sacrificing the people of this world was your choice! If you will not heed to our words", he threw his D-Pad upwards and it activated on command, "then I'll get to you by a duel! D-Gazer, set!"

As his D-Pad reached his arm and activated in perfect sync, Yuma put on a yellow scouter with a green lens on his left eye. This prompted Yuzu to activate her own disk, of pink blade.

"We'll duel three on three", declared Antinomy. "Under our system, each team will share a common field and graveyard, but individual players will have their own decks and their own set of 4000 LP. Moreover, we only take combat damage from the monsters we've summoned or gained control. Effect damage and direct attacks can be inflicted on any player who has already taken their turn. Agreed?"

Yuzu, Yuya and Yuma stepping up in sync was all the answer they needed.

"Are you sure of this?" she heard Aporia murmur at Antinomy, even though he had also readied his disk and drawn his hand.

"We must," said Paradox. "We need to buy time and leaving a single fool out of a duel will give them the chance to intervene".

"Let's go, Paradox. Aporia!" intoned Antinomy.

"They're coming, Yuya, Yuzu!" Astral and Yuma said in harmony. They both raised their disks like shields.

 _DUEL!_

(Yuma: 4000 LP) (Yuya: 4000 LP) (Yuzu: 4000 LP)

(Paradox: 4000 LP) (Aporia: 4000 LP) (Antinomy: 4000 LP)

"It's not an Action Field", Yuya looked around them. "Yuzu, no Action Cards".

"Understood. "I'll take the first turn, Yuya. Yuma. Astral". Astral curtly nodded.

"I activate the Magic Card 1st Movement Solo. If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon a Melodious monster from my hand or deck". On her disk program, she selected the card, which was picked up from her deck. She raised it slightly for her spirits to see. It earned her a chuckle from Rin and a disgruntled groan from Serena.

"I'll Special Summon Melodious Diva Serena" A purple lady descended. She wore a yellow ball gown adorned in purple diamonds with a red sash with embroidered green beams and crotchets (Level 4/1900 DEF).

"She can be treated as two tributes for an Angel-type monster. I tribute Serena to summon Melodious Maestra Prodigy Mozart". On command, Serena pulled her sash, which magically expanded and wrapped it around her. When it was pulled back, a new diva rose with pale blue skin and a vivid red dress with gold embroidery and butterfly wings (Level 8/2600 ATK).

"I activate Prodigy Mozart's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Light Angel-type monster from my hand". Prodigy Mozart conjured a conductor's baton, but played it like a flute with rapid, precise notes. "I Special Summon Melodious Diva Aria!" The third lady, with purple hair and pink skin descended on command and unfurled her single angel's wing, shaped like a harp (Level 4/1200 DEF). Then, Prodigy Mozart carried her baton and conducted Aria. She sang a calm, soothing lullaby that the duelling field seemed to carry across the desolate city. Yuzu softly explained "While Aria is on the field, upon being Special Summoned, Melodious Divas can't be targeted by card effect, nor destroyed in battle. I set a card and end my turn".

"Woah, that was amazing Yuzu!" Yuma was jumping up and forth in excitement. Astral and Yuya beamed at her. "A perfect defence in the opening move", said Astral. Yuya raised his thumbs. "That's Yuzu for you, setting the stage like that".

"Setting the _stage_?" Despite his gruff, whizzing voice Aporia distilled pure venom in that single word. "You mean to say this is a game to you?"

"Of course it is!" said Yuya "It might have been used as a tool of war and brought pain, but that was the fault of the players'. This game can bring so much joy and smiles across. That is the essence of a real duel".

"That's fucking stupid!"

"Settle Aporia", Antinomy cut in. "Boy, your love and faith in this game is commendable, but that is something none of us here can afford. That includes you. How can you call this a game when you've just lost everything?"

"That's because I already lost myself once". Yuzu heard a pleading determination in his voice. _Yuya._

"If people can't go back to this game for comfort and for entertainment, they'll be lost".

"I've heard enough". Paradox raised his disk arm. "The young girl already said her turn ended. I'll take it from here and finish her. Draw!"

When Paradox took his card, Yuya grunted and clutched his chest.

"What's the matter, Yuya?"

"I heard Clear Wing's cry. It's coming, Yuzu!"

"I activate the Field Magic, Sin World!"

The card's hologram flew up to the sky and dissolved into a dark yellow sun with a pitch black cross at the centre. Suddenly, the atmosphere turned violet and pitch-green buildings and skyscrapers rose broke through the floor and rose around them with distorting sounds.

"This isn't our Solid Vision", Yuzu realized. "This programme is different".

"Which means these individuals can materialize the monsters they summon and they damage they inflict to real life", Astral said gravely.

"Sin World was built on the crimes of humanity across time and its punishment will be laid here. Under Sin World, my monsters can't attack, except Sin Monsters, but I can ignore their effects and control as many as I desire". He picked his next card. "I discard Chaos Numbers 107: Neo Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon from my Extra Deck to Special Summon this card!"

For a split second, the three-headed golden armoured dragon that had attacked them manifested and then dissolved into a portal of purple light.

"Arise, Sin Galaxy Eyes Tachyon Dragon!" From it, the dragon surged forth with black and white stripes along its golden plating. Its centre head wore a black and white mask. The left's was entirely black and the right's white. (Level 9/4500 ATK)

" _What?!_ "

"He summoned a fake Neo-Tachyon by sacrificing the original!"

"There's more! I now send Clear Wing Synchro Dragon from my Extra Deck to the grave!"

This time, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon appeared and it cried out in horrific agony as it was dragged into the abyss.

"Become Clear Wing Sin Dragon!" When it sprung forth, its white and black scales had inverted their colour and its translucent green wings were now tinged with a polluted grey. (Level 7/2500 ATK)

"Unforgivable". Yuya was clenching a fist in anger.

" _How could you reduce Clear Wing to that?!"_ Rin and Yuzu's anger was in sync.

"Oh, are you upset that your precious card was sacrificed and want it back? Then as you wish, I'll bring it back. I'll summon the tuner monster Sin Gear Frame! And promptly tune it with Clear Wing Sin Dragon!"

A small monster built on three self-rotating gears appeared with a clunk (Level 3/0 ATK), then dissolved into three black tuning rings that wrapped Clear Wing.

"Darkness born from the threshold of dimensions, lower the curtain of destruction on the stage that surpasses time and space! Synchro Summon! Sin Paradox Dragon!"

An armless dragon as big as Sin Galaxy-Eyes appeared in a whirlwind. Its body and wings were black with white lines and silver edges at the end. Its crown spikes were a rusted bronze and its eyes a hollow red (Level 10/4000 ATK).

"Spamming monsters on the first turn with a Synchro Summon to boot", muttered Yuzu.

"It's too early to be surprised, young girl. When Sin Paradox Dragon is Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon another Synchro Monster from my grave, ignoring summoning conditions. And as long as I control both these monsters, the second monster's ATK points will be deducted from every one of your monsters. Be reborn, Synchro Dragon!"

Dark pink chains manifested mid-air and pulled out Clear Wing Synchro Dragon through a gravitational distortion. It screamed and wrangled pitifully. (Level 7/2500 ATK)

Suddenly, Prodigy Mozart and Aria were hit by black mist (Prodigy Mozart: 2600→100 ATK) (Aria: 1600→0 ATK)

"This is horrible! To think that he could simultaneously bring such a massive offence and weaken her monsters", Astral whispered in terror.

"It's worse than that", Yuya said with resignation. "Clear Wing's effect will protect his high Level monsters from being targeted by monster effects and negate our own high Level effects. Horrific attack and defence in sync". At that moment, he stared directly at Yuzu and she saw the twinkle within.

 _Yuya, I'm carrying your feelings. I won't let this one go._

"Battle! Sin Galaxy-Eyes attacks Prodigy Mozart!" Three heads charged in tandem. "Destruction Tachyon Spiral!" They fired.

"Reverse card open! Block Guard!" I can prevent one instance of battle damage and draw a card. And thanks to my Special Summoned Aria, Prodigy Mozart won't be destroyed!"

Yuzu drew her card with a flourish and a pink line of music spread forth on command which protected Prodigy Mozart from the damage.

"Hmph! Then I'll have to settle for this one. Sin Paradox Dragon, attacks Prodigy Mozart!"

The dragon fired its own pulsing shot of purple light.

"I've got you! I discard Honest!"

The spirit of a radiant angel shot forth at Prodigy Mozart and propelled her. Her butterfly wings shone and were replaced by the white feathery wings of an angel (100→4100 ATK).

"What is this?!"

"When my Light attribute monster battles another monster, I can discard Honest and make it gain the ATK of the opposing monster. Prodigy Mozart retaliate, Graceful Wave!"

Prodigy Mozart pierced Sin Paradox Dragon and broke through its chest. Paradox was moving back to avoid the ensuing gust. (Paradox: 4000→3900 LP).

"Sin Paradox Dragon's been destroyed! Therefore, its curse will be lifted and my monster regain their ATK!" (Prodigy Mozart: 4100→6600 ATK) (Aria: 0→1600 ATK).

"Woah, amazing Yuzu!" Yuma was holding his head in excitement.

"Heh, that's what you get for underestimating Yuzu", Yuya lifted a nagging finger at Paradox.

"Don't be so pretentious…I set two cards and end my turn". With that Honest's angelic wings dissipated. (Prodigy Mozart: 6600→2600 ATK).

"Yuya, you're next!" She managed an encouraging smile.

"Right! Now that you took care of that pesky dragon, I can finish him off. My turn, draw!"

He drew Smile World.

 _Sigh._


End file.
